Beyond Friendship
by NebulaBelt
Summary: An accident occurs and provides the opportunity for two members of the Care Bear Family to learn just how they really feel about each other and that there's more than just friendship...
1. Chapter One

I do not own the Care Bears. I do however own a good-sized bag of Oreos and a copy of _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ and that make me feel better.

This is my first stab at romance, Care Bears or otherwise, so forgive me if it's a bit clumsy. I don't think this is a usual pair for Care Bear stories, at least I haven't read any others. Enjoy!

"**Beyond Friendship"**

It was another beautiful day in the Kingdom of Caring. It was past midday, and most members of the Care Bear Family were occupied with their various activities. A few were on Caring Missions, but it was a largely quiet day, so most had time to take care of their own needs. Proud Heart Cat took the time to give herself a thorough shower and brushing, making sure every strand of fur was in its proper place. Cozy Heart was in the Rainbow River, trying to teach Brave Heart Lion a thing or two about swimming (with little success).

Gentle Heart Lamb, however, was walking with a lunch tray in her hands, barely noticing Swift Heart and Champ Bear racing past her. She was nearly knocked off her feet by Swift Heart's wake, but managed to stay standing. Wary of any further accidents, she carefully made her way through the Forest of Feelings until she arrived at her destination: Bright Heart Raccoon's home and workshop.

She knocked very softly on the door, befitting her shy nature. "Hello?" She called, stepping inside as the door swung open. Gentle Heart walked towards the back of his home, where he worked on some of his smaller inventions.

"Bright Heart?" She called as she stepped inside another room, startling its occupant, who was busy hammering something together. He dropped his hammer in surprise.

"Oww!" Grumpy yelled as the dropped tool fell on his paw. "Why do these things always happen to me?" He asked as he grabbed his injured paw.

"What's going on out here?" Bright Heart asked as he came through another door. "Oh Gentle Heart, hello! What're you doing here?"

"I brought you and Grumpy lunch. Noble Heart told me you two would be working and I figured you'd forget and miss lunch."

"Thanks, I guess we did."

"I didn't." Grumpy insisted, who was fairly hopping on his undamaged paw. "I just got distracted by the hammer that fell on me!"

"Sorry Grumpy." Gentle Heart said contritely immediately apologetic.

"I'm sure it was an accident Grumpy." Bright Heart pointed out.

"Yeah, well…" He grumbled. "What did you bring Gentle Heart?" She lifted the tray and revealed the food beneath.

"I made sandwiches. You two do like peanut butter and jelly, don't you?"

"Sure do!" Grumpy said as he grabbed one. "Thanks!"

"This was really thoughtful of you." Bright Heart complemented as he helped himself to a sandwich. "Did you make anything for yourself?" Gentle Heart nodded.

"A peanut butter sandwich."

"Want to join us?" Bright Heart offered. Gentle Heart smiled, ever since her…troubles with No Heart a few months back the two of them had been spending more time together than they had before.

She nodded as she accepted the offer. "Thank you." Grumpy cleared off a work desk and the three of them sat down. "So what are you two working on?" She asked.

"Grumpy is helping me build a new boiler for the Hall of Hearts." Bright Heart answered.

"That big building can get awfully drafty." Grumpy said, shivering for effect as he took another bite. "Hmm, these are really good!"

"Thank you Grumpy." Gentle Heart said shyly. After lunch was finished, Gentle Heart stood and grabbed the tray. "I better bring this back to the Hall of Hearts."

"Thanks for bringing us lunch. You should visit more often Gentle Heart."

"Your welcome Bright Heart. This was fun." She smiled. "Do you know when you two will be done?"

"Actually, I have to go home and fix my leaky roof." Grumpy said as he also got up.

"I'll be finished in about an hour or so. After that I just need to bring it to Care-A-Lot."

"I'd be glad to help you when you're done." Gentle Heart offered. Bright Heart smiled.

"I think I'd like that. Thanks." Bright Heart returned to his work while Gentle Heart and Grumpy left. The two of them walked together for a time, mostly in silence. Eventually Gentle Heart softly asked Grumpy how he liked working with Bright Heart.

"I liked it a lot better than doing everything by myself." Grumpy answered. "He's really smart and all, great to work with. But sometimes he just doesn't seem to know when to stop explaining what he's doing. I think he's too smart for his own good."

Seeing the hurt look on Gentle Heart's face, he felt compelled to add, "But there's no one I'd rather work with in the entire Kingdom of Caring."

Gentle Heart smiled. Then she looked down at the tray she was carrying and frowned. "I forgot the lid," she sighed. "I'll just go back and get it. See you later Grumpy!"

"Bye!"

Gentle Heart was walking back to Bright Heart's home when she heard an explosion followed by a series of loud crashes. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized that it was coming from somewhere up ahead…Bright Heart's workshop!

Dropping the tray she was carrying, Gentle Heart raced down the path to Bright Heart's, flung open the door, and made her way into the back, calling Bright Heart's name.

"Bright Heart!" A wall of smoke met her as she entered the workshop where she had eaten lunch with Bright Heart and Grumpy barely ten minutes ago. Coughing, she waved her hands around, trying to clear the air so she could see what had happened. She didn't like it when she did.

The boiler had apparently exploded, and the rest of the room wasn't much better off. Bright Heart's tool shelf had fallen over and beneath it Gentle Heart could make out the unmistakable violet paw of Bright Heart.

Biting her lip to prevent herself from screaming, Gentle Heart hurried over to the fallen shelf and began pulling it off the raccoon pinned underneath. She gritted her teeth as she pulled it off, barely managing to drag it aside.

She hastily went to check on Bright Heart and immediately looked pale. Bright Heart unconscious, but alive which was the best thing that could be said about his condition. From the way he absently moaned, he had either bruised or broken a rib or two. Gentle Heart quailed at the sight of Bright Heart's right leg turned at an impossible, and unnatural angle. She felt her stomach lurch and the sight promptly looked away.

At a loss, she paused for a minute then used her Call to conjure up a cloud stretcher. Gently depositing the injured raccoon as best she could, she still winced when he moaned once again in pain. She pushed the stretcher outside of Bright Heart's smoke filled house and walked outside just in time to watch as her family came to help.

Gentle Heart sighed in relief as her legs gave out from under her and she fell, completely exhausted.


	2. Chapter Two

Take Care Bear wiped her forehead as she checked Bright Heart over one more time. It taken a fair amount of bandages and casts to bind his injuries properly, but she was done.

"Is he going to be okay?" Gentle Heart bleated nervously. Ever since she had woken up, Gentle Heart had refused to leave, insisting on staying to help take care of Bright Heart.

"Yup. Bright Heart's not going to feel great when he wakes up, but he'll live and be blowing up more things in no time." Gentle Heart frowned at her.

"That's not funny."

"You're right, sorry." Take Care swapped her face with a towel. "You did good getting him out as fast as you did. Great idea with the stretcher."

Gentle Heart nodded but didn't seem to be listening. She was busy watching Bright Heart. Take Care decided that she better tell the rest of the family, which had parked themselves right outside the door. Normally, Bright Heart would've been taken to her clinic, but since he was going to be spending a lot of time in bed, she decided that it would be best if they tended to him in one of the (many) spare beds in the Hall of Hearts.

Take Care had no sooner stepped out of the room then she was assaulted with a flood of questions that nearly bowled her over.

"Is Bright Heart okay?"

"Will he be alright?"

"What about-?"

"Whoa, settle down everyone!" She said waving her arms for emphasis. "Bright Heart's going to be okay…" The resulting cheer drowned out the rest of her words. "…But he needs to rest so I need it QUIET." Take Care repeated archly. The others collectively winced.

"Oops." Grumpy said, looking abashed.

"What happened?" Brave Heart asked, barely remembering to keep his voice down. Take Care shook her head.

"From the descriptions I've heard, my best guess is the boiler pressure probably got too high for it to handle. It's not anyone's fault, the material just wasn't as strong as it looked."

"And Gentle Heart?" Friend Bear asked.

"She woke up a while ago. It was just exhaustion. She's actually been helping me treat Bright Heart."

"Some details would be helpful." Noble Heart said, looking as old and worn as anyone had ever seen him. True Heart patted his shoulder. Take Care sighed.

"Bright Heart broke two ribs and bruised a third." She began ticking points of her paw. "His right leg is broken too, and he suffered a mild concussion. I had to put in some stitches, especially for that cut over his eye," Take Care traced a line over her right eye for emphasis.

"But you said he's going to be okay, right?" Cozy Heart asked. Take Care nodded.

"I wouldn't recommend that he go on any Caring Missions for a while. In fact, I want to keep him here for a while, for observational purposes."

"How long?" Tenderheart asked.

"About a week or two. After that I can let him go home. The ribs and leg will probably heal themselves in another two or three weeks."

Noble Heart sighed in relief. "Can we see him?"

"I guess so." Take Care said hesitantly. "But just you and True Heart for now, and not for too long. He's really tired and needs his rest." She looked past them to the other Care Bears and Cousins in the hall. "The rest of you can comeback to tomorrow."

The others nodded, reluctantly, and quietly filed out of the hall. Take Care held the door open and let True Heart and Noble Heart inside.

As the trio walked over to the bed, they saw Gentle Heart perched on its side, talking animatedly with Bright Heart. Take Care wasn't sure but she could've sworn she saw them holding hands. But when she looked again a second later, their hands were nowhere near each other so she supposed she saw wrong.

Gentle Heart turned to them and said in her usual soft voice, albeit somewhat excitedly, "Bright Heart's awake!"

"Bright Heart, are you okay?" Noble Heart asked as he sat down on the bed next to him, True Heart taking the opposite side of the bed.

"I feel like one of Lotsa's relations fell on me." He groaned. "My head hurts and so does basically everything below it, but I'm told that I'll be fine."

"That's good to hear." True Heart said encouragingly as she gave him a very slight hug, careful not to disturb his injuries. Noble Heart sighed.

"With all that's happened in the last few months," he nodded towards Gentle Heart "I thinks it's a wonder my fur hasn't turned grey."

"Then we'd have to change his name to Noble Heart Mule." True Heart chuckled.

Noble Heart gave a braying laugh, but it was plainly forced.

Bright Heart flattened his ears. "I'm really sorry to have worried you, all of you,"

He said apologetically. Noble Heart shook his head.

"That's not how I meant it. This isn't your fault, anymore than Gentle Heart's nightmares were hers. It's just that I've been given quite a scare. If anything were to happen to any of you…" Noble Heart shook his head, forcing himself to stop there.

"Just get better Bright Heart." True Heart said as she patted his hand. "We need to have our family inventor up and about."

"You got it True Heart." Bright Heart mumbled as he yawned.

"Okay, I think that's enough for visiting hours. You," she said to the injured raccoon, "Get some rest. The rest of you: out."

Noble Heart and True Heart got off the bed and bade their last goodbyes, a quick kiss from True Heart and a gentle hair ruffling from Noble Heart. Gentle Heart stood off to the side and watched them go. Aware of Take Care's gaze on her, Gentle Heart turned around to face her.

"Gentle Heart, it's time to let him sleep. Go home and get some rest." Take Care urged. Gentle Heart, in an uncharacteristic bout of stubbornness, shook her head.

"I'll stay in the Hall of Hearts tonight. In case he needs me." Take Care blinked her eyes in surprise. "I wont be up all night," Gentle Heart added quickly. "I'll just be here in case he needs a drink or something."

Take Care nodded slowly, it made sense. As much as Take Care wanted to stay herself, she knew she had to make herself available to everyone and there wasn't much else she could do for Bright Heart now. Besides, most of her medical books and supplies were back in her clinic in the Forest of Feelings.

"It's your decision," Take Care granted. "Just don't overdo it. You need rest almost as much as he does."

"I won't." Gentle Heart promised. "Thank you." Take Care nodded once and excused herself, leaving Gentle Heart alone with the sleeping Bright Heart.

Gentle Heart simply pulled up a seat and sat down. She didn't say anything else for hours. Take Care's warning not withstanding, Gentle Heart stayed there the entire night.

It was only fitting she rationalized. After all, he'd done the same for her. Now it was her turn.


	3. Chapter Three

Gentle Heart yawned as she looked out the window. The sky was getting brighter and she hadn't moved from her seat all night. Take Care was going to kill her.

Bright Heart had, for the most part, slept soundly. Though there were a couple of times during the night where he would move and aggravate one of his injuries and terrify Gentle Heart, causing her heart to leap up into her throat.

"Gentle Heart?" The sudden noise made Gentle Heart jolt upright in her chair.

"Oh, Bright Heart, you're awake!"

"Sorry if I scared you." He said as he rubbed his eyes with his hand, careful of the stitches over his right eye.

"Don't worry about me, I'm too busy worrying about you! Are you feeling any better?"

"It still hurts to breath." He ground out. "To say nothing of talking or eating. Which is annoying since I'm really hungry. I also have a headache the size of the Kingdom of Caring." He paused. "But, I guess I'm okay."

"If it hurts to talk, then you should probably stop." Gentle Heart urged. Bright Heart cocked his head and blinked.

"It also hurts to breath, should I stop doing that too?" Gentle Heart regarded him curiously.

"You really must've hit your head hard. That sounds more like something Playful Heart would say." Bright Heart gave a look of mock horror.

"You're right, I must be further gone than I thought!" He gasped dramatically. "It's too late! Do you think another knock another on the head will help?"

"Now you're just scaring me." Gentle Heart said warily. "Cut it out."

"Sorry." Bright Heart looked at her. "You've been up all night, haven't you?"

"It's nothing." Gentle Heart murmured around a yawn. "You did the same for me, if you recall."

Bright Heart nodded, remembering the night that he, Tenderheart and Bedtime Bear had spent watching over Gentle Heart as No Heart attacked her dreams and prevented her from getting any rest. Only then it was Gentle Heart who was too weak to get out of bed and Bright Heart who stayed with her. Bright Heart would have chuckled at the irony of them having traded places, had it not been too painful to do so.

"Yeah, I guess I did." He admitted. "But I still don't want you staying up all night because of me. The last thing I need is knowing that you got yourself sick on my account." Gentle Heart hadn't been the healthiest cub in the family. She got sick rather often, usually being the first to fall ill and the last to recover. Part of it stemmed from her own shy nature, not telling anyone she wasn't feeling well until she was already sick. Eventually she had shed that particular habit but after her run in with No Heart, Bright Heart wasn't willing to have her take unnecessary chances, especially on his account.

Gentle Heart shook her head. "And if you had needed me?" Bright Heart paused, at a loss for a good answer. He was spared having to admit it when the door opened, causing both Cousins to turn their heads to see whom it was.

Giggling, two cubs came bolting into the room shouting:

"Bright Heart! Bright Heart!" Seeing where this was going, Gentle Heart interposed herself between the cubs and Bright Heart's bed.

"Wait a minute Hugs and Tugs! Don't leap on Bright Heart."

"Awww…" Tugs groaned.

"Why not?" Hugs asked.

"Because he's not feeling well enough for you to be pouncing on him just yet. You may accidentally hurt him."

"We'd never do that!" Tugs protested.

"Would a hug hurt?" Hugs asked softly. Gentle Heart smiled and shook her head.

"Not if you can find someplace where he doesn't have bandages or casts." Helping Hugs and Tugs up on the bed, Gentle Heart took a step back to give them some room. Hugs threw herself around Bright Heart's neck (one of the few bandage free places on his body) and gave him one of her patented, world-famous hugs.

"Goody goody gosh, Bright Heart, I hope you're feeling better."

"Now that you're here I am." Tugs cleared his throat importantly.

"We made you a card, we hope it'll make you getter better soon." Bright Heart smiled as he took it.

"I'm sure it will. Thank you."

"And just how are you feeling, dear?" Bright Heart and Gentle Heart turned their heads to see Grams Bear standing at the foot of the bed, neither had noticed her entering.

"I'm…doing better." Bright Heart answered, it was technically true and sounded better than saying that he was still in quite a lot of pain. Still, it didn't look like she was buying it. But instead of saying anything about it, she simply said:

"I thought you might be hungry dear, so I made you breakfast." She placed a foldout tray on the bed with a bowl of oatmeal.

After everything that happened yesterday, Bright Heart was famished. "Thank you Grams!"

"You welcome, dear. Eat up, you need your strength." Turning to Gentle Heart, she added, "And so do you. You look like you didn't sleep a wink last night."

"Well, I-" Gentle Heart began. Grams held up her paw.

"Now, I wont hear another word of it. You need to lie down. Please, for this old Bear's sake?" Gentle Heart, realizing there was no point in arguing with Grams, sighed and took a seat on one of the unused beds that lined the room. Grams smiled as Gentle Heart sat down and gently started humming something softly as she turned around. Gentle Heart yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Within moments she was curled up on the bed, fast asleep.

"That was really clever." Bright Heart commented as Grams tucked her in.

"Thank you Bright Heart. You didn't suppose that you were the only clever one in the family, did you?" Grams chuckled. "Now eat up, before it gets cold."

Bright Heart swallowed one spoonful and promptly winced, fighting the urge to double over in pain. Eating with broken ribs was not a pleasant experience, but he doubted that not eating would help. He ate as much as he could, about half the bowl. Finally, he dropped the spoon in the bowl and put his head back on his pillow, signaling that he was finished.

"I think we've visited enough for now." Grams said as she took the tray. "When you're better, I hope you'll see fit to visit us for breakfast. I'll make pancakes."

"Sounds great Grams. If that isn't the best motivation I have for getting well soon, then I don't know what is.

"I think I know." Grams said with a smile, looking at a point past Bright Heart's head. He frowned and followed her gaze. It landed on the bed next to his, where Gentle Heart slept on. Then it clicked.

"Grams!" Bright Heart moaned, blushing a deep red.

Grams chuckled. "I don't mean to be an old tease, but Grams knows best." Giving Bright Heart a quick peck on the cheek, she gathered up the cubs and headed for the door. "Take care of yourself!" She called.

"Goodbye!" Tugs called.

"Bye Bright Heart!" Hugs added. After the door had closed and they were gone, Bright Heart sighed and buried his head in the pillow, covering his still warm face with his hands.

"Well that was mortifying."

"What was?" Bright Heart lifted his hands to see Gentle Heart sitting up in her bed and stretching.

"Nothing." He said quickly. Changing the subject he suggested, "Maybe you should go grab a bite to eat? You've got to be as hungry as I was." Gentle Heart nodded reluctantly.

"Alright, but I'll be right back." She assured him.

"I promise I'll still be here." He answered dryly. After Gentle Heart got out of bed and left, Bright Heart just sighed and pulled the covers up over his head.

"What a day."


	4. Chapter Four

Gentle Heart rubbed her eyes with the back of her paw as she strolled into the Hall of Heart's cafeteria. The others were already having breakfast or preparing for Caring Missions. Normally she'd have wanted to eat with her friends and take her time but now she just hoped to quickly eat on her own and then get back to Bright Heart.

As she was heading with a tray of food to a table by the back wall, she ended up getting waylaid but some of the others, most of them asking after her and Bright Heart's health.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tenderheart asked her. She nodded. Tenderheart thought she looked tired and it didn't take much to guess why, though he was tactful enough not to say so out loud.

"Want to have breakfast with us?" Cheer Bear asked her, Swift Heart Rabbit who was standing next to her, nodded in encouraging agreement.

"Well, I-" But Gentle Heart had never been comfortable telling her friends no, especially when she thought she might hurt their feelings. So she ended up sitting at a table with Tenderheart on her right and Cheer and Swift Heart sitting across from them.

"How is he?" Tenderheart queried of her as she ate.

"He's doing well enough to have visitors." Gentle Heart said in her customary soft voice. "Grams and the cubs stopped by this morning."

"If that's the case maybe we ought to see him ourselves." Swift Heart said as the two Care Bears at the table nodded in clear agreement. Gentle Heart, after a moment's hesitation, nodded too. For some odd reason she wanted to be with Bright Heart by herself for a while longer. It was…strange.

After they finished up breakfast the four of them ventured back to Bright Heart's temporary residence.

"Bright Heart?" Tenderheart called as he approached the bed. Bright Heart smiled and waved.

"Hi everyone! How are you?" He tried to sit himself up by propping his back against the headboard, but Gentle Heart hurried over and softly pushed back down fearing that he might aggravate his ribs if he kept that up.

"It's not us who should be asked how we feel." Cheer pointed out. "The question should be, how are _you_?"

"I'm-" Bright Heart started to say 'fine' but a sharp twinge of pain worked its way up his spine as he shifted his broken leg, "I've been better." He admitted. "But it's not that bad."

"Sure…and next you'll be telling us that Grumpy's a bright ray of sunshine." Swift Heart drawled out, tongue-in-cheek. "There's nothing worse than a broken leg." She continued in complete seriousness. "Nothing. You just have to sit and lay around for weeks until it heals." She shuddered in undisguised horror, having sprained or broken her own legs on more than one occasion.

"Not everyone has the same outlook on running as you do." Bright Heart pointed out. "Though, I'll admit that it wont be fun for me not being able to do much by the way of inventing when I'm like this."

Swift Heart opened her mouth, Gentle Heart knew her well enough to guess that her next words would be something along the lines of 'if you hadn't been inventing in the first place, he wouldn't be in this condition now.'

"Is there anything we can get you?" Gentle Heart asked, cutting Swift Heart off before she had begun to give voice to her thought.

"Well I suppose I wouldn't mind having something to read as long as I'm here. But I'd rather have someone to talk to."

"We can help there." Cheer said brightly. "Is there anything in particular you want to talk about?"

"Hmm, let's see...Has anyone started working on a new boiler yet?" Gentle Heart smiled. It would be like him to ask about the project he had been working on, despite the fact that it was the cause of his injuries. She left most of the talking to Cheer and the others. For some reason most of what she wanted to say, she wanted to say in private.

She pulled on Tenderheart's arm. "Can I ask you a favor?" Tenderheart blinked. Usually she wasn't this upfront about that sort of thing…or anything come to think of it.

"What is it?" Gentle Heart shuffled her feet as she worked up the courage to ask.

"Do you think…could someone else cover my Caring Missions today?"

"This isn't like you, asking for a day off like that." Tenderheart pointed out. "Why do you-" He saw Gentle Heart's eyes darting back to the bed behind her and Tenderheart understood. "Well, Bright Heart does need someone to talk to." He admitted. "But I don't know-" For the second time in as many minutes, Tenderheart trailed off. Gentle Heart was looking up at him with her big, innocent and sincere eyes that Tenderheart just couldn't say no to. Loyal Heart and Proud Heart had been known to give their own variations of pleading and overly innocent, cute glances. Mostly they were done as a joke or simply as a tactic to get their way. Neither applied here. Gentle Heart couldn't be anything but sincere, and it showed in her eyes. That's what made her appeal impossible to refuse.

Tenderheart sighed. "There's no resisting the Bambi eyes," he thought to himself as he nodded. "All right, you can stay." Gentle Heart's whole face lit up. "Just try not to wear yourself out." He admonished. Gentle Heart nodded eagerly and hugged him briefly, whispering a quick thanks in his ear as she hurried away.

Looking at a clock on the wall, Tenderheart realized that it was about time he started handing out the caring assignments for the day. "Swift Heart, Cheer Bear, come on. It's time to go."

After bidding their good-byes, Cheer and Swift Heart filed out of the room, Tenderheart threw one last glance over his shoulder as he followed them, closing the door behind him.

"Shouldn't you be leaving too?" Bright Heart asked Gentle Heart after the others left. She shook her head.

"No, someone else will handle my Caring Missions today." She was about to add "So I can stay with you," but her mouth refused to comply. Why did she feel so tongue-tied?

Bright Heart didn't notice her situation. "I'm glad to have the company of course, but I'm not sure if it's such a good idea. You've already been up all night staying here. Do you really think you should spend your whole day here too?"

"I want to be here." Gentle Heart said softly. "If you don't want me to-" Bright Heart shook his head.

"That's not it." He said. "It's really great that you're willing to stay with me, but I don't want to cause you any trouble or-" Gentle Heart giggled. He raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?" She tried to wave the question aside but was too busy laughing with mirth for the matter to drop. "Come on, what is it?" Bright Heart asked again.

"It's just that…" Gentle Heart was laughing so much she had to lean against the bedpost for support. "That's just what I told you when I was stuck in bed…" And she set off laughing again. Bright Heart _did_ recall Gentle Heart having told him something along those lines back when No Heart was interfering with her sleep. It was pretty funny, now that he stopped to think about it.

Bright Heart started laughing to. He didn't think it was all _that_ funny but he soon found that he couldn't stop. "She has a great laugh," Bright Heart thought to himself. It was the kind that invited everyone to laugh with her. She didn't get to use it nearly often enough.

If anyone had walked in just then they'd be awfully confused at seeing Gentle Heart and Bright Heart laughing like loons at apparently nothing. Eventually, both of them had to stop; Bright Heart's ribs were starting to ache and so were Gentle Heart's sides.

Bright Heart smiled as he saw Gentle Heart take a seat and wait for her laughs to subside. Whispering too low for her to hear, he repeated the thought he'd had only moments before.

"She has a _really_ great laugh…"

Take Care Bear had stopped in shortly after that. As Gentle Heart had predicted earlier, Take Care was none too happy that she had stayed up all night, against Take Care's instructions.

She let the matter drop though, once she started checking Bright Heart over. "What did you do to your bandages?" She asked him as she redid the bandages covering his ribs.

"Nothing…We were just laughing and I guess the bandages got undone." Bright Heart answered. Take Care regarded him critically.

"Laughing that much? She had either have to have told the greatest joke ever or started tickling you with a feather-duster. Since I'm assuming neither happened," She shot a glance towards Gentle Heart who blushed under the scrutiny, "Then you shouldn't have been laughing so hard." Since that didn't call for a reply, none was given. Bright Heart just winced as Take Care finished bandaging his ribs.

"There." She said, wiping her brow. "Finished. That ought to hold you over for a while. Drink this." She added, offering him a glass of water and two pills. Bright Heart swallowed the pills, grimaced, and took a drink of water. "Those will relieve most of the pain you've been feeling, but you may feel a bit drowsy." Take Care warned him. "But it's nothing to worry about."

"As for you," She turned back to the lamb; who gave a guilty start. Take Care sighed. "I guess you can stay. But you had better turn in early and get a good-nights sleep or so help me I'll come back with enough Valium until you're sleepier than Bedtime. Got it?" Gentle Heart nodded. "Good. Have fun you two." She said as she made her way to the door. "And try not to give stare gooey-eyed at each other all night, hmm?" She laughed as she made her joke, but looking at the embarrassed look on their faces, Take Care wondered if it had been a joke to them.


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: This will be my last update for a while. I'm spending the next week on a trip to Russia and won't have access to a computer until I come back. I leave you with this parting gift (as well as a strange one-shot fic) and will post more once I return and eagerly read whatever reviews you've left for me. Thank you!

After Take Care had left, Bright Heart and Gentle Heart continued to talk about everything that had been going on in the Kingdom of Caring. Bright Heart injuries had pretty much left him out of the loop. Eventually, the painkillers Take Care had given him took their toll and Bright Heart found it harder and harder to keep his eyes open.

"I think I should let you rest for a bit." Gentle Heart said getting up from the chair she'd pulled next to Bright Heart's bed. She was surprised at how stiff she was, and wondered just how long had she been sitting there.

"I guess you're right." Bright Heart mumbled sleepily, yawning.

"I'll stop by a little later and bring some of your books." Gentle Heart offered. This time she had to strain her hearing to hear his thanks. "Pleasant dreams," she said as she leaned over to hug him good-bye.

Bright Heart surprised her by not only returning her hug, but also by giving her a kiss on her cheek. Gentle Heart's face heated and she idly felt her mouth hanging open. She was about to ask what that was for when she noticed that he was already asleep. Shaken, she turned and headed for the door. After turning the lights off, she turned around for one last look at the slumbering raccoon, watching his chest rise and fall as he breathed.

She sighed and turned back to the door to head outside, only to halt dead in her tracks when she noticed Swift Heart and Cheer Bear standing there waiting for her. The smiles on their faces were of the kind that could give you nightmares.

"H-hi Cheer, Sw-Swift Heart." Gentle Heart stammered, her face warm. "C-Can I help you?" They just kept grinning. Gentle Heart felt sweat break out on her forehead as she closed the door behind her. "Just how much did they see?" She asked herself.

"So…" Swift Heart began suddenly breaking the silence, not to mention nearly giving the poor lamb a heart attack. "You and Bright Heart…Who'd have thunk it?"

"What are you talking about?" Gentle Heart asked, her face turning red.

"Oh come on," Cheer said. "It's obvious, the way you two look at each other, not to mention the way you two _act_ together, the way you've spending time with him, and I'll bet you were up all night worrying about him too." Gentle Heart's guilty flush confirmed it. "And as if that wasn't evidence enough, you're blushing."

"A lot." Swift Heart added. There was some immutable law that stated that pointing out that someone was blushing was a guaranteed way to make them blush even more. Gentle Heart proved that theory right then and there, her blush extending from her cheeks down to her neck.

Gentle Heart knew that it could have been worse. If it had been Love-a-Lot Bear who'd found her she'd be sighing and swooning non-stop, Treat Heart would never have stopped giggling (not that she did anyway), Playful Heart would have teased her something terrible…so it could have been worse. Somehow, the consolation that brought wasn't all that much help.

Cheer Bear laid a paw on Gentle Heart's shoulder. "Why don't we go talk shop for a while?" Gentle Heart shook her head, but when Swift Heart's paw landed on her other shoulder she realized that she didn't have much of a choice.

"All right." She said softly, still beet red. "Let's go." She added in the voice of one about to be taken to their execution.

"I don't believe it." Swift Heart said as she and Cheer all but frog-marched Gentle Heart outside. "It's just like in the movies: it's always the shy, quite one who falls for the mad scientist…"

"Bright Heart is _not_ a mad scientist." Gentle Heart said in a vehement whisper, wishing Swift Heart would keep her voice down. Cheer Bear blinked, surprised by Gentle Heart's unusual defensiveness, which only proved her suspicions.

"Absentminded professor then?" Swift Heart suggested.

"Okay, Swift Heart you've had your fun." Cheer admonished her. "No more ragging on Bright Heart. It's not as if Gentle Heart has a crush on him or anything." She added, unable to resist sinking a barb of her own. Gentle Heart mumbled something that sounded like a half-hearted denial, but no one believed it at this point, not even Gentle Heart.

"Is that what's going on? Do I like Bright Heart that way? Do I _love_ him?" She asked herself. This was confusing. Gentle Heart loved everyone in the Care Bear Family. After all, they were family and would do anything for each other. But she'd never felt this way about anyone else before. Was that the other kind of love that she'd heard about? Not the kind between siblings, or between close friends, but the kind shown in all those films Love-a-Lot can't get enough of?

Bright Heart was family, so didn't that make what she was feeling wrong? Of course, they weren't a family in any biological sense, so…she had to hold her hand to her head to ward off the headache she was getting.

Still, she did find herself wanting to be around Bright Heart more than anyone else. She hadn't always felt that way, though, which was as confusing as anything else. Once he was just a friend. A good friend, true, but Gentle Heart had never seen Bright Heart—or anyone else—in any different light. No one else gave her butterflies in her stomach, or made her smile the way Bright Heart did, or made her happy the way Bright Heart did, or…

Her train of thought was abruptly cut off when Swift Heart snapped her fingers in front of Gentle Heart's face. "You still with us, Gentle Heart?"

"Hmm…oh!" Gentle Heart flushed. "Sorry."

"We know what were thinking about." Cheer said indulgently. "You went all dreamy-eyed on us." The poor lamb now looked as if she'd been badly sunburned.

"So, want to tell us again how there's nothing going on with you and Bright Heart?" Swift Heart prodded.

Gentle Heart sighed. With friends like these, who needed No Heart?


	6. Chapter Six

Tenderheart was surprised when he found Bright Heart alone. He had expected that nothing sort of a mob could drag Gentle Heart away. Not knowing just how close to the truth he had just come, Tenderheart walked over just in time to see the raccoon stir.

"Gentle Heart?" Bright Heart yawned sleepily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Sorry, no. Just me." Tenderheart said. "You feeling better?"

"Take Care gave me something to dull the pain." Bright Heart said, his eyes still a bit bleary. He rubbed them again. "Do you know where Gentle Heart is?" Tenderheart shook his head.

"I expected her to be here."

"That makes two of us." Bright Heart said quietly, but not so quietly that Tenderheart couldn't hear him.

"Is there something going on with the two of you?" Tenderheart asked. Bright Heart blushed, but unlike Gentle Heart didn't immediately deny it.

"I-I guess so. Ever since No Heart, you know…" Tenderheart nodded. He didn't like thinking about what the sorcerer did either. "I thought that he'd succeed. I really did. I thought that I'd never see Gentle Heart again…and I couldn't imagine life without her. I started thinking about all the things that maker her great and thought they'd be lost forever. Her smile, her eyes, how shy she was...She's fine now but I still…" He trailed off.

"You're still thinking about how great she is and how close you came to losing her?" Tenderheart finished.

"I know, it doesn't make much sense, but—"

"Actually Bright Heart I think it makes perfect sense." Tenderheart said. "You're in love."

"I'm _WHAT_?"

"Think about it. What's that rule, the one about the simplest solution usually being the correct one?"

"Occam's Razor." Bright Heart answered automatically.

"Well, what does that tell you?" Bright Heart frowned as he thought it over. Could it really be that simple? "_It would explain a lot_." He thought to himself. Aloud he said, "What do you think of all this?"

"Me? I think it's great." Bright Heart raised a questioning brow as Tenderheart answered. "Really, I do. I'm your friend, Gentle Heart's too. I've seen the way you two act around each other and it's about time you realized just what it was you were feeling. Besides," Tenderheart added with a grin, "It isn't often I get to help other Care Bears like this."

"Glad to be of service." Bright Heart said, rolling his eyes.

"I mean it. All the time we're helping others share their feelings. I think it's about time I got to help my family in the same way."

"So what should I do?" Tenderheart coughed as he scratched his head in thought.

"Well, truth be told this really isn't my area of expertise. Maybe I should talk to Love-a-Lot Bear-"

"NO!" Bright Heart said shooting straight up in his bed as if he was stuck with a pin. Tenderheart seemed taken aback at the swiftness, to say nothing of the volume, of Bright Heart's rejection. Bright Heart realized that he had probably been too vehement and quickly added, "No thank you." He cleared his throat. "Sorry Tenderheart but if you told Love-a-Lot then I'd never hear the end of it; and let's face it, Secret Bear, she isn't. If she knew, five minutes later, the whole Kingdom of Caring would know too."

"I wouldn't have to name names or anything…" Tenderheart pressed.

"If you were in my place, would _you_ want Love-a-Lot getting involved?" Tenderheart paused as he thought about his answer. As much as he liked Love-a-Lot she did have a tendency to get carried away, especially on matters of the heart.

"…No, I guess not." He sighed. Bright Heart shrugged and held out his paws in a '_See_?' sort of gesture. "Okay then, not a word to Love-a-Lot. What about Noble Heart and True Heart?" Bright Heart frowned in thought.

"I guess that's a good idea…I just don't know what to do. I feel like I should tell _someone_, but…" He trailed off.

"But what?" Tenderheart asked, slightly taken aback when Bright Heart started to fidget and blush.

"This is just so _embarrassing_!" The raccoon exclaimed finally. "No one else has had problems like this. I feel—I don't know, dumb maybe—for not being able to solve this on my own."

"You're not dumb, Bright Heart. This would be confusing for anyone. But that's why I'm here to help. No one's expected to know everything."

"I am." Bright Heart said, running his paw through his headfur.

"No you aren't…"

"Yes I am! Everyone always asks _me_ how to solve problems or fix things. Asking someone else for help seems like saying to everyone that I'm not as smart as they thought I was." Tenderheart winced.

"Well I can't speak for any of the others, but I'm sorry if I ever gave you the impression that I expect you to have the answers to everything. It's an unfair burden to put on your shoulders and I'm sorry for having contributed to it. But there's no shame in asking for help, that's what family is for." Bright Heart fidgeted as he digested this.

"What will you tell them?" He asked finally.

"The truth." Tenderheart said. "That you and Gentle Heart have feelings for each other and you want advice on what to do."

"And if they don't know what to do?"

"We'll worry about that if it happens. When do you want me to talk to them?"

"As soon as you can I guess. I don't want this dragged out any longer than it has to."

"Then I'll go find them now." Tenderheart said. "You just, um…"

"Stay here?" Bright Heart said dryly. "No worries there. It's about all I can do."

Tenderheart flushed. "Sorry. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Thanks Tenderheart." Bright Heart said.

"Anytime." Tenderheart gave him a farewell wave and hurried out the door. If he was lucky he might be able to catch Noble Heart and True Heart alone. They usually had lunch together at Noble Heart's home.

Tenderheart knocked at the door. "It's open!" Came the call from inside. Opening the door, Tenderheart found Noble Heart and True Heart sitting at the kitchen table over a cup of what looked to be tea.

"Tenderheart, I didn't know you'd be coming too! Grams said she'd be here in a few minutes so perhaps if you wanted to join us you're certainly welcome to."

"Thank you True Heart, but that isn't why I came." Tenderheart paused, trying to think of the best way to continue. "I'm here to talk about…a friend."

"Oh?" True Heart answered, smothering a grin, as Noble Heart raised a questioning brow. "And what is your…friend's…problem?"

"Well it sort of involves another Care Bear—"

"This Care Bear wouldn't happen to be a girl, would it?" Noble Heart asked, trying to smother his own grin and succeeding only by the barest of margins.

"How'd you—? Well, yes it does. Only he doesn't know quite what to do now that he knows he has these…feelings for her."

"Well Tenderheart," True Heart said as she draped her arm on his shoulders. "I think the best thing to do for now would be to tell her how _he_ feels about her and let it progress from there. I'm sure she feels the same way."

"He's kinda nervous." Tenderheart pointed out. Noble Heart nodded but said,

"It's understandable but it'll only get worse the longer, you…er, _he_ puts it off." Tenderheart looked at Noble Heart and True Heart with a questioning glance. They both looked like they were trying not to smile at something.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked them a bit put off by their odd behavior.

"Oh we're fine." True Heart said covering a grin with her paw. "It's just that we didn't expect this just yet."

"Well I don't think he did either." Tenderheart said. The two elders started chuckling under their breaths when Tenderheart said 'he'. Tenderheart was starting to see a pattern. "It isn't _me_!" He protested, which just set Noble Heart and True Heart off.

"Of course it isn't dear." True Heart smiled with a slightly patronizing air as Noble Heart nodded, still grinning.

"I knew I should've made Bright Heart do this himself when he got better." Tenderheart muttered. That was enough to stop Noble Heart and True Heart cold.

"Bright Heart?" True Heart asked in confusion.

"You mean this isn't about you and Love-a—oof!" Noble Heart wheezed as True Heart elbowed him in the ribs. Tenderheart looked at them with something approaching exasperation, not catching Noble Heart's slip up.

"Tenderheart if they're something you've been meaning to tell us, don't be afraid to." True Heart said, patting his hand. "We'll always love you." Tenderheart blinked not quite understanding. Then he did and began blushing incandescently.

"No! That's not what I meant." He moaned, holding his head in his paws. "I'm talking about Bright Heart and Gentle Heart! They're in love!"

"Are you sure about this?" True Heart asked, surprise evident on her face. Noble Heart was sitting right next her, looking no less stunned at Tenderhearts' announcement.

"I'm sure. They've stuck together like glue lately and ever since Bright Heart's accident, Gentle Heart's hardly ever left his side."

"I can't believe it." Noble Heart breathed. "Bright Heart and Gentle Heart? In _Love_?"

"Stranger things have happened, I suppose." True Heart said, still dazed. She turned to her life-long companion. "Noble Heart, what do you think about—Noble Heart?" True Heart looked on in amazement at the ever-widening grin on Noble Heart's face.

"And here I was afraid that no one else in the Kingdom of Caring would get to know the joy I feel with you," He said, laying his paw on top of True Heart's.

"Very smooth." She smiled. "I'll admit, there were times when I thought that raising them as a family would hurt them in this regard." Noble Heart nodded. Raising the cubs together as family did help bring them together, but they feared that it would preclude the possibility of them forming any romantic bonds. After all, how difficult, not to say confusing and scary, would it be to fall in love with someone you'd considered to be a brother or sister up until then, even if they weren't? And since the Care Bear Family was a fairly small community, it would be impossible to look for love outside it and almost as difficult to look inside. Stellar Heart Tiger and Regal Heart Lioness were newcomers to the family, so their marriage didn't turn that many heads; and since Perfect and Polite Panda were raised apart from the others, Goodluck Bear's crush on Polite failed to do so either. But Bright Heart and Gentle Heart now…

When Noble Heart spoke that thought aloud, True Heart snuggled up to him. "The two of us not withstanding?" Noble Heart smiled.

"We were born and raised before the Care Bear Family was created. The others have known no other way of life. I was afraid that we had denied the ultimate expression of caring, the greatest thing they could ever experience."

"To love and be loved in return?" a new voice asked. Noble Heart and True Heart fairly jumped and Tenderheart spun around. None of them had noticed Grams Bear entering the room.

"How long have you—never mind I don't want to know." Tenderheart said as he rubbed his still warm cheeks. Grams chuckled and made her way to the table.

"So you've figured it out? About Bright Heart and Gentle Heart, that is." Grams added when Noble Heart and True Heart didn't catch on right away.

"How did you know?" Tenderheart asked.

"Call it Grandmother's intuition. I have my ways, dear. Never fear."

"That isn't all that reassuring." Tenderheart murmured to himself.

Grams just smiled. "So what should we do about our resident lovebirds?"

"_We_ do nothing Grams." True Heart said firmly. "That goes double for you. Oh don't give me that innocent look Grams, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I can see it in your eyes that you're planning something. No meddling. I mean it."

"Oh, all right True Heart dear. If that's the way you want it." Looking at a clock she clucked her tongue. "I'm sorry to cut our tea time short dears, but I have to go." After planting a kiss on their cheeks, Grams bade Noble Heart, True Heart, and Tenderheart goodbye. A few minutes later, Tenderheart also excused himself, wanting to get back to Bright Heart as soon as he could.

He had barely set his paw out the door when Grams Bear waylaid him. "Grams?" He asked in surprise, only to be sushed.

"Come along dear, we have things to plan."

"Plan for what? What things?" Tenderheart asked, a sinking feeling growing in his stomach.

"Why, for the happy couple of course!"

"Um, didn't True Heart tell you not to? I mean, Bright Heart and Gentle Heart still haven't talked to each other about this—"

"Oh, don't be such and old fuddy-duddy, Tenderheart dear. A little help never hurt anyone."

"First time for everything." Tenderheart sighed. "Grams _please_, at least let me talk to them first? Before you plan anything?"

"If you insist. You know I only have they're best interests at heart." She said as she patted his cheek.

"_That's what I'm afraid of_." Tenderheart thought to himself as Grams headed off on her own direction. She started humming as she walked away. There was something about that encounter that bothered Tenderheart. He didn't realize it until much later though. The tune she was humming had been "Matchmaker, Matchmaker."


	7. Chapter Seven

In spite of Gentle Heart's best attempts, Swift Heart and Cheer Bear clung to her all afternoon. She desperately wanted to head back and check up on Bright Heart, but knew that she'd never have another moment's peace from either one of them if she tried.

As it was, a _second's_ peace seemed like a distant, unrealizable, dream. Swift Heart and Cheer interrogated Gentle Heart for hours, digging, prodding, and probing for anything they would consider "juicy." Gentle Heart had the feeling she was disappointing them, but somehow wasn't feeling all that bad about it. As it was, their questions, their suggestions were so invasive, so personal, so—so…_mortifying_ that it was Gentle Heart could do not to keel over from shock and embarrassment.

"Do you think Bright Heart's 'cute'?" Swift Heart asked. "Do you fantasize about him at all?"

"Have you thought about where you'd go on dates?" Cheer added. Gentle Heart moaned silently, still blushing beyond measure. _Would it never end?_

"Gentle Heart!" She whirled in surprise to see Tenderheart heading their way. "I've been looking all over for you." Spying her red face and her companions, he managed to put two and two together. "All right you two, that's enough. Leave Gentle Heart alone."

"Aww…" Cheer pouted.

"You're no fun at all, Tenderheart." Swift Heart chided. "How often do we get to grill a Cousin in love? You don't know what you're missing!" Gentle Heart surprised Tenderheart by somehow managing to blush even darker, something he would not have thought possible.

"One day it might be you on the grill." Tenderheart warned Swift Heart. "Then maybe you'd be glad if someone came and pulled you off it. Besides," he added with a grin. "I think Grumpy was looking for you over at the Hall of Hearts. He looked a bit put out that you weren't there." Swift Heart didn't blush like Gentle Heart did, but it was clear that the shot hit home.

Cheer unsuccessfully tried to stifle a giggle. Tenderheart turned to her. "And I think Champ Bear was expecting you to help him set up his new exercise room. I don't think you'd want to disappoint him." Cheer's expression was a dead ringer for the one on Swift Heart.

Presented with other places to be, both of them left in a hurry. Tenderheart smiled and turned back to Gentle Heart only to have his next words preempted as Gentle Heart flung her arms around him and hugged him as a drowning man would a lifeline.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She exclaimed jubilantly, her head practically buried in his chest.

"ERK! Gentle Heart as happy as I am to see you, I still need to breathe!" Tenderheart wheezed, his lungs in danger of being crushed.

"Sorry." Gentle Heart said as she released him. "But you saved my life! You're a hero!" She pecked him once on the cheek. Tenderheart regarded her with surprise; she usually wasn't this outgoing.

"You may want to save that for Bright Heart," Tenderheart smiled. It turned into a frown when Gentle Heart flushed. "I didn't mean to embarrass you—"

"It's okay." Gentle Heart said softly. "I guess the whole Kingdom of Caring will know once Cheer and Swift Heart are through." Tenderheart shook his head.

"They know better. But the question is, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well if you have these…_feelings_ for Bright Heart maybe you should talk to him about them?"

"I couldn't do that!" Gentle Heart protested, her expression one of shock.

"Why not? Have you ever thought that he might feel the same way?" Gentle Heart shook her head, whether it was in response to the former question or the latter, Tenderheart didn't know.

"Bright Heart wouldn't…I mean he couldn't…"

"You don't think Bright Heart could think of you in the same way that you think of him?" Tenderheart finished, wondering slightly at just how many times he had ended up finishing someone else's thought because they couldn't.

Gentle Heart nodded morosely. "He's so smart and wonderful and special and I'm…not. Why would he possibly see in me?"

"I think you're selling yourself short." Tenderheart admonished her. "And Bright Heart too. You're really special Gentle Heart. I know it and so does Bright Heart. Talk to him. You'll see."

"I-I just can't." She said meekly as she turned away from him. "I have to go. Thanks again." She said again as she walked away leaving Tenderheart alone, shaking his head.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

The next two weeks were a trying time for everybody. Tenderheart divided his time between trying to convince Gentle Heart to talk to Bright Heart (and vice versa) and his regular duties. It was exhausting.

Despite his best efforts, Gentle Heart absolutely refused to so much as even broach the subject with Bright Heart and Bright Heart wasn't much better about it. They both danced around the subject with each other, talking about anything and everything else.

Tenderheart felt like screaming in frustration.

Whenever Gentle Heart wasn't on Caring Missions, she was with Bright Heart. She spent the night with him on two separate occasions, twice falling asleep in the chair she had parked next to his bed. Tenderheart was having trouble trying to keep this under wraps. People were starting to talk.

Playful Heart, showing his usual tact and maturity, was planning to ask Harmony Bear to sing "_Bright Heart and Gentle Heart Sitting in a Tree_…" Playful Heart abandoned that plan after Tenderheart threatened to ban April Fools Day for the next ten years.

Still, he couldn't stop them from speculating. Thankfully, neither Gentle Heart nor Bright Heart were aware from it. Tenderheart was fairly sure they'd have both died from embarrassment and whatever relationship they might have had would've died before it was ever even born.

He couldn't help shake the feeling that Grams, who had so far held aloof from the speculation and gossip, was planning something. Tenderheart didn't know what, but he did know that he didn't want to be in Bright Heart or Gentle Heart's place.

Bright Heart was happy that Gentle Heart continued to visit, but saw that something was bothering Gentle Heart. But whenever he asked about it, she would act evasive and change the subject. It wasn't like her.

He considered talking about what he had discussed with Tenderheart, but couldn't think of the right way to bring it up. Bright Heart felt that he needed to do it at just the right time…if you had asked Tenderheart he would've told you that Bright Heart's idea of the right time was something along the lines of never.

Try as he might, Tenderheart just couldn't get it into their heads that best thing to do would simply be to talk to each other about how they felt. For Care Bear Cousins, you think this would be second nature to them. But in all fairness, Tenderheart conceded, this wasn't quite the same thing as what they did on Earth.

Truth was, he didn't know what to do anymore than Bright Heart or Gentle Heart did. He told Noble Heart and True Heart as much when they had him over for lunch one day.

"I don't know what else to do." Tenderheart admitted. "They both talk to me, but they wont talk to each other."

"That's a shame." Noble Heart sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised though."

"Maybe you should let them come to terms with their feelings on their own." True Heart suggested. Tenderheart just shook his head.

"I don't think so. The two of them are as frustrated with this as I am. They _want_ to talk, to have someone to help them through this but neither one of them wants to talk to Love-a-Lot or anyone else who actually knows what their doing!" True Heart drummed her fingers on the table.

"If that's the case, perhaps Noble Heart and I should talk to them. We've been where they are. We're probably the only ones here who have."

"It's a good idea." Noble Heart agreed. "Should we talk to them together or separately?"

"I think one on one talk is best for now." True Heart answered. "I'll talk to Bright Heart while you have a word with Gentle Heart."

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" True Heart shook her head at Noble Heart's question.

"Right now I think they need to understand what the other is feeling and why they're having trouble expressing. I think I could help Bright Heart understand what Gentle Heart's going through a little better than you could. This'll be hard enough as it is, we don't need it complicated further by one guy explaining to another guy what a girl's feeling when neither one of them really knows what she's feeling in the first place. The reverse is also true."

"If you say so." Noble Heart said, trying to keep it all straight. "You think I could explain to Gentle Heart what Bright Heart's feeling better than I could explain to Bright Heart what Gentle Heart's feeling?" True Heart nodded.

"Exactly."

"I suppose you may have a point there." Noble Heart turned to Tenderheart. "Maybe you should go lie down for a bit. You look exhausted." Tenderheart nodded, grateful for the reprieve.

"Thanks Noble Heart. Good luck!" _You're gonna need it_. He added mentally. After he had left, Noble Heart turned back to True Heart.

"Shall we go?"

"Let's. I think you'll find Gentle Heart having lunch in the Hall of Hearts."

"And you'll find Bright Heart…at the same place he's been for the last two weeks." Noble Heart said. "At least you won't have to look far."

The two of them walked to the Hall of Hearts before they spilt up and went their separate ways. Sure enough, Noble Heart found Gentle Heart finishing her lunch. She had been about to head back to Bright Heart's side when Noble Heart laid a paw on her shoulder.

"Can we talk?"


End file.
